Villagers Under Chief Gutu Angered By US$10 “Tax” For Zunde RaMambo

Villagers under Chief Gutu in Gutu District, Masvingo Province, are angry after Headman Gadzingo called a meeting on Thursday and told each village head to pay US$10 for Chief Gutu’s Zunde raMambo.

Chief Gutu has 14 headmen, and some of them oversee dozens of village heads. One headman, Gadzingo, looks after 106 village heads. This means the “tax” could raise thousands. The money goes directly to the chief and is not officially accounted for.

The 14 headmen under Chief Gutu are Gadzingo, Makumbe, Nesongano, Ndahwi, Mutema, Mawere, Nerupiri, Mupata, Magombedze, Mataruse, Maburutse, Zinyemba, Denhere, and Chisvino, each managing around 50 village heads on average.

When contacted by Masvingo Mirror, Headman Gadzingo confirmed the collection of the “tax.” He said:

“We had a meeting yesterday of village heads at Runyowa Business Center to discuss and reflect on points from a recent gathering with the First Lady at Maungwa Secondary School. We particularly noted the cultural points she left us with.

“In addition, we also informed village heads of the US$10 that must be paid by each head for Zunde raMambo.”

Chief Gutu became angry when Masvingo Mirror sought his comment on the matter and reportedly threatened the reporter. He was quoted as saying:

“Yes every village head is paying US$10. What business of yours is it? Do you know the function of Zunde raMambo? What do you want with that information? I now have your number, bother me no more!”

A village head, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation, said the money will be collected from villagers.

Because the smallest note in the country is US$1, every villager will have to pay at least that, which could lead to extra cash being collected without any proper record.

Lawyer Martin Mureri said the collections are illegal. He explained that chiefs do not have the right to tax villagers or carry out development projects on their own. He said their role is to support development initiatives brought by the government.

However, Masvingo Provincial Chiefs Assembly Chairperson, Chief Chitanga of Mwenezi, said there is nothing wrong with the collections. He said:

“I haven’t spoken to Chief Gutu over the matter, however I suspect that the money is to buy missing inputs from the Zunde raMambo program.

“There is a fertilizer crisis among chiefs and Chief Gutu might be collecting the money to buy fertilisers.

“US$10 is a reasonable figure given that a bag of fertilizer is costing at least US$35.

“The chief’s jurisdiction is also limited as many headman have been upgraded to chieftainship.”

Gutu District Development Coordinator Chiedza Tafireyi did not respond to questions sent by Masvingo Mirror to her mobile phone.

Under the Zunde raMambo programme, chiefs are given agricultural inputs by the government. Villagers help plough the chief’s fields, and after the harvest, the chief uses the grains to support the less privileged, including child-headed families and the elderly.

However, villagers across the country have been complaining that some chiefs are overburdening them by imposing their own additional taxes.